title: Visualization of lipid droplets in C. elegans by light and electron microscopy.
abstract: The powerful forward and reverse genetic tools, and emerging sets of biochemical assays for fat metabolites, make Caenorhabditis elegans an attractive model organism for elucidating conserved mechanisms in fat storage. The ability to observe lipid droplets in live animals at single cell resolution offers a unique advantage for studying cellular fat storage in vivo. In this chapter, we describe transgenic technologies for expressing fluorescent lipid droplet marker proteins at near-physiological levels. Methods to visualize these markers using sensitive confocal microscopy systems are detailed. Additional methods for visualizing lipid droplets by transmission electron microscopy and detection of lipid droplet associated proteins by immunoelectron microscopy are described.
authors.affiliation: Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA.
authors.forename: Ho Yi
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Mak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins
keywords: C. elegans; Confocal microscopy; Electron microscopy; Fluorescent proteins; Lipid droplets